well we come to uh... revelation
fourteen this morning revelation chapter fourteen and I've called
this message and it's quite a stark title eternal blessedness or
eternal torment very stark isn't it eternal blessedness oh we
love to talk about that but there's another reality eternal torment
we see both of it in this chapter fourteen we've been talking about
the spiritual warfare that goes on between god and satan the
kingdom of god and the kingdom of satan there's a warfare that
goes on and it's a dramatic warfare and you know worldly literature
has tried to emulate it in things like the lord of the rings and
other things of that nature and it's alright for them to do that
it's fiction it's harmless enough but The real thing is the real
thing. Christine and I went to the cinema
last night. We don't do it very often, but we went to see one
of the films that is nominated for an Oscar. It's the new one
with Leonardo DiCaprio. It was an interesting spectacle,
an interesting spectacle, but what did it say? You know, it's
a load of drama, two and a half hours of drama and vivid pictures
and all gory pictures. But what did it say? It didn't
say anything. It gave no message. This is full
of the message of life and death and heaven and hell and eternal
reality. And the thing that makes us living
souls and living beings, spiritual warfare. there's a huge impact
on God's people in this world. The warfare that's conducted
by Satan and Antichrist that we saw in Revelation 13 makes
this a bad environment for the people of God to live in. It
makes it a tough environment. It makes it an environment where
your basic philosophy of life is completely at odds with the
philosophy of this world. You think about it. You look
at the laws that have been passed in this country in the last ten
years and you look how many of them have flown in the face of
the word of God and of the word of our Lord Jesus Christ. again
and again, flown in absolute contradiction of what this word
says. This world in which we live,
this fallen world, has turned upside down. That which thirty
years ago was regarded as right and wrong turned it completely
upside down. They boast in, they brag in the
things that were once regarded as shameful and evil and disgusting
and vile. They've turned it completely
upside down. Is it a surprise? Not to the people of God because
in God's word written nineteen hundred years ago and a bit more
exactly what Revelation 13 said when he wrote it then is happening
in our day today. The people of God will experience
physical suffering but they'll also be patiently confident of
eternal final bliss. there are contrasts in the book
of Revelation in chapter six we saw six of the seven seals
opened do you remember the horses the four horses the white horse
and the red horse and the black horse and the pale grey horse
and there were dreadful things there about what happens in this
world as the world as this creation goes on as this fallen creation
from when Satan deceived Eve and Adam knowing what he was
doing took his whole race into subjection of the devil we saw
in chapter six those six seals open but lest we despaired God
gave us chapter 7 where we saw the 144,000 sealed sealed by
their God God has his people in this fallen sinful world God
has his people in chapter 9 we saw two of the three woes of
the seventh seal two of the three woes, we saw the plague of locusts
remember that? demonic, demonic forces you know,
I mean they're repeated these things in different pictures
but in chapter nine it was this plague of locusts, this demonic
forces and it was the angels coming out of the Euphrates and
the world being overrun by godlessness that was two of the woes and
it was a terrible picture and then in chapter ten lest we despair
he showed us the angel, the mighty angel who is Christ who was standing
with one foot on the sea and one foot on the land with a little
book in his hand that everything that happens is in the control
of our Lord Jesus Christ for he rules over all things in chapter
13 we saw the dreadful kingdom of Antichrist in chapter 14 we're
looking at the victorious kingdom of Christ of our Lord Jesus Christ
as it says in Revelation 11 verse 15 The kingdoms, and this is
what we sang a few months ago when we sang Handel's Messiah
and it's beautiful. Revelation 11, 15, the kingdoms
of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and of his
Christ and he shall reign forever and ever. So in chapters 13 and
chapter 14, we see the dark vision of the beast and his kingdom
and in contrast in chapter 14, the bright vision of the Lamb
and his people. And it's not that one follows
the other, they're at the same time. It just depends on the
perspective that you see. Chapter 13 is the triumphant
perspective of Antichrist. Chapter 14 is the triumphant
perspective of Christ. What is the will of God the Father? This is my first point. What
is the will of God the Father? Do you know in the Lord's Prayer,
you know when the disciples said, Lord, teach us to pray, and it's called
the Lord's Prayer? Well, it shouldn't be called
the Lord's Prayer, it should be called the Disciples' Prayer, because it's what the
Lord taught the disciples to pray. And he said, when you pray,
pray like this. Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Next. Thy will be done. Pray for that. What is God's will? What is the
will of our Father in heaven? The will is this, of God, that
Christ should be given the kingdom. that Christ should reign supreme
and unchallenged over the entire kingdom of the creation of God,
the whole of creation subject to his rule, all rebellion put
down and defeated, the people of his choice purified from sin,
and how are they purified from sin? They're redeemed by blood,
for that is the only way to cleanse sinners from their sins. The
only thing that cleanses sinners from their sins is the blood
of the Lamb of God. For that alone pays the price
of justice, which justifies His people. That alone. This is the
will of my Father, said Jesus in John chapter 6. that of all
that the father has given me all the people I should lose
not a solitary one you know 139,999 is no good sorry 143,999 is no
good 144,000 not one of them should be lost what is the will of the
father? what is the will of the father?
that that kingdom should be Christ's. How is that
kingdom going to be Christ's when the people that are going
to be its citizens are sinners? How is it going to be Christ's?
He must redeem them. Oh Father, pray Christ, in the
garden of Gethsemane, if it be possible that this cup be taken
from me, oh take it from me. What was the cup? The cup that
he was about to drink was the cup of the wrath of God for sin,
for he who knew no sin was about to be made the sin of his people
that his people might be made the righteousness of God in him
because he would go to the cross and he would the soul that sins
it shall die and the life is in the blood and the infinite
son of God become man would shed man's blood but pure sinless
perfect blood blood as of a lamb without blemish and without spot
to satisfy the law for his people and thereby redeem them. And
so, if it be possible, but it isn't possible. For God cannot
remain God and justify a people without the death of his son.
You want to know how bad sin is? We don't know how bad sin
is, do we? But you want a glimpse of it?
Look what God had to do to his son, to redeem his people from
their sins. if it be possible not my will
but thine be done and so he goes to the cross and sheds his blood
for his people and why are so many of the hymns about blood
oh because that blood is so sweet to the wounded conscience to
the conscience of the sinner who is made conscious by the
Holy Spirit of his sin before God. How blessed, how sweet,
how wonderful is that blood of Christ that cleanses us from
all sin. I remember, I love the poetry
of John Betjeman, you see his statue at St Pancras station
in and I love his poetry beautiful beautiful use of the English
language but you know he used to love the Church of England
and its hymns but he said I once heard him say how he hated the
hymns that have got blood in them because he didn't want anything
to do with the blood I heard a statement the other day do
you remember we live quite close to Shaw's Corner at Aeot, Aeots
and whatever it is, one of the Aeots and George Bernard Shaw
did all his writing there and apparently when he heard somebody
preach that nothing but the blood of Jesus can cleanse a sinner
from his sins George Bernard Shaw said I don't need anybody
else's blood I'll deal with my own sins. You see the hardness
of the human heart, no, no. There's a complete contrast between
the will of Satan and the will of God. The will of Satan is
this kingdom of lies in which we live. This kingdom of godlessness. The kingdoms of this world. Kingdoms
of sin and of self and of hatred and of cruelty and of falsehood. Can anybody deny that? Just turn
your news bulletin on. It's there all the time in the
things of this world. Above all in that kingdom what
is missing? No blood redemption. No blood. We will not have this man to
rule over us. We will not have the blood of this man being necessary
to fit us for heaven. We will get there ourselves is
the stubborn cry of fallen man. Do you believe these things?
do you see that there are only two camps in this world and you're
in one or the other the camp of the kingdom of Satan and Antichrist
or the camp of the 144,000 of the redeemed of the Lord Jesus
Christ two perspectives then chapter 13 shows us the perspective
of Antichrist the worldwide supremacy of a kingdom of darkness and
the willing submission, it isn't subjugation it's willing, look
at the people of this world all around they're not rebelling
against Satan and Antichrist, they're absolutely thinking it's
wonderful I saw an article in the paper the other day saying
how wonderful it is that we've thrown off the shackles of religion
and now we're so much wiser now that we've got rid of all this
evil superstition of religion and now we can make decisions
as to who's good and righteous and all the rest of it. This
is what's being written all around us. worldwide supremacy, willing
submission and support of the majority of the people in this
world for the kingdom of Satan and in the process the isolation
of God's people who don't have the beast's mark we don't follow
the philosophy of this world but as we saw in chapter 13 we're
increasingly sidelined you see hints of it now it's going to
get worse before the end that's what we're warned you know even
to the point where the people of God can't buy and sell we
can't trade in this world days are going to be so bad that the
Lord Jesus Christ said that for the elect's sake they will be
shortened those days we know that there's a limit on them
time times and half a time there's a limit on those days and the
church as we see it today these are the witnesses the two witnesses
of chapter 11 which is the church and its ministers those are the
two witnesses they're lying dead in the street to the world of
religion us meeting in a room like this with a congregation
listening in over the next few days over the internet in ones
and twos on their own in secret at home is a church lying dead
in the streets and they're rejoicing over it that it's not viable
that it's been put down It's a dreadful, hopeless situation. It seems, doesn't it? Doesn't
it seem dreadfully hopeless? Don't you as a believer, if you
are a believer, don't you despair at what you look at? How bad
can it be? Is this really right? How bad
can it be? But remember what I told you
last week. Do you remember the account of Elisha? and his servant
in 2nd Kings chapter 6 and verse 15 and they're surrounded by
the Syrians and militarily they're about to be crushed and the poor
servant is overwhelmed, oh my lord it's all up for us, we're
done for, it's all finished for us and Elisha prays, Lord show
him that those that are for us are greater than those that are
against us And so, Revelation 14 is given. Lord, show your
people on earth in these days of the kingdom of Antichrist
that those that are for us are greater than those that are against
us. Verse 1 of chapter 14. And I
looked. Look at it. and I looked this
isn't following chapter 30 it's not that everything in 13 happens
and then something new happens no people that interpret it that
way are wrong chapter 13 and 14 should be looked at side by
side in the world of Satan and Antichrist that seems so desperate
by the eye of faith I looked I looked says John and what did
he see? look a lamb stood on Mount Sion,
and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his
father's name written on their foreheads. I looked. What did
he look with? He looked with the eyes of faith.
What is faith? It's that God-given spiritual
sight, sight of the soul. While chapter 13 and the dreadful
things there of Antichrist go on, and the sufferings of God's
people increase, look, children of God, a lamb is on Mount Zion
with his 144,000, the sealed the sealed ones where have we
seen them before? in chapter 7 verse 4 in chapter
7 we were told after the dreadful things of chapter 6 were revealed
to us of this fallen world chapter 7 there were the sealed of God
the 144,000 which represents it's a symbolic number it's 12
times 12 times 10 times 10 times 10 you get that? Mental arithmetic. 12 x 12 x
10 x 10 x... 12 is the number of the church in the Old Testament. 12 is the number of the church
in the New Testament. 12 x 12? 144. x 10? Worldly completeness.
x 10? times 10, completeness, completeness,
completeness it's God's number in this world on this earth at
any one time is what he sees and they're sealed with the seal
of God in this fallen false world they're sealed and here while
the kingdom of Antichrist goes on here is a lamp on Mount Sion
with all of his people on the earth. Here he is, by the eye
of faith, if you're a child of God, look. Look, can you see
him? Can you see him? Not with your
real eyes, but with the eye of faith. He's ruling all things.
And the sealed of him, the 144,000 are there, with him. Even though we're on earth at
this time, we're there. And where are we with him? In
Mount Zion. What's Mount Sinai? You see,
again, false interpreters, these who get it wrong, they make a
fundamental mistake. When you read the book of Revelation,
it's important to distinguish when things are meant to be taken
literally and when they're meant to be taken symbolically. And
anything that is clearly symbolical, you cannot pick bits out of it
and say, oh, that's literal. You cannot do that. You've got
to be clear. You've got to stick with it.
This is symbolical. This is all symbolical. This
is not talking about Jesus. standing on the Temple Mount
in the city of Jerusalem in this world, which is what false interpreters
tell you. No, he's talking about Christ
with his people as God has always promised. I will be their God
and they will be my people. Mount Sion? What is Mount Sion?
yes Zion is Jerusalem you know the Arabs get up in arms about
Zionism and honestly modern Judaism has got nothing whatsoever to
do with the things of the living God any more than anything else
that's in this world has got to do with that but it's a picture
Jerusalem in the Old Testament Zion, Sion of the Old Testament
that has got to do with where does God live with his people
If you ask the Jew in the Old Testament, where does God live?
He'd say, oh, in Jerusalem, in the temple, in the Holy of Holies.
That's where God lives. That's where he meets with his
people, over the Ark of the Covenant. which is the gospel of his grace
at the mercy seat where the blood of an acceptable sacrifice is
sprinkled by an acceptable high priest once a year on the day
of atonement that's where God meets with his people that's
what this is picturing it's where Jehovah dwells among his people
pictured by Jerusalem in the Old Testament but in this world
with the church looking like it's dead lying in the street
still is Christ on Mount Sion with his 144,000 all around is
the kingdom of Satan and all around the world's nations rage
look back with me at Psalm 2 I know we looked briefly at this at
the end of last week but I just want to show you the first few
verses of Psalm 2 this week, Psalm 2 Why do the heathen rage and the
people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves
and the rulers take counsel together. Look, who are they fighting?
Against the Lord and against his anointed. Who's his anointed?
The Lord Jesus Christ. and in Christ all that are in
him who are his people saying let us break their bands asunder,
their restraining bands let's cast away their cords that tie
us up from us let's break loose from this restraint and then
what does God say? he that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh shall laugh at what? shall laugh at their attempts
shall laugh at the futility of their attempts the Lord shall
have them in derision then shall he speak unto them in his wrath
and vex them in his sore displeasure verse six yet have i set my king
upon my holy hill of zion i will declare the decree the lord has
said unto me thou art my son this day have i begotten thee
ask of me and i shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance
and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession thou
shalt break them with a rod of iron thou shalt dash them in
pieces like a potter's vessel Be wise now, therefore, O ye
kings, be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord
with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,
and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Do you see
that? I looked, and lo, a lamb stood
on Mount Sion. yet have I set my king upon my
holy hill of Zion is this not the same one? the same person?
of course it is God laughs at the futility of them in rebelling
so whatever the world and the kingdom of antichrist tries to
do to the kingdom of Christ and its people making war overcoming
them all the things that chapter 13 said they're still there every
one of them is still there there's not one of them that is lost
every living... you see this is Christ with his
144,000 he hasn't lost one this is the will of my father that
of all that the father has given me I should lose nothing not
one missing why does it say 144,000 to underline the point that God
will not lose one of the people he's given to Christ every one
of them. It's like every living stone
in the temple for the church of God, the people of God are
a living temple of God, Ephesians chapter 2. You're living stones
built and just like there was a place for every stone cut in
the quarry to be fitted into the temple, so there is with
the elect of God. Every one of the army, do you
remember the ranks that Ezekiel saw? Stephen mentioned it in
his prayer about the valley of the dry bones. and how prophesy
and the spirit of God breathed upon them and breathed life into
them and they stood on their feet a mighty army in their ranks
and as I've told you many times before what's the most obvious
thing when you see ranks of soldiers if there's one of them missing?
Isn't it? You don't see all the ones that are there you see the
one and the two that are not there you see the missing ones
and there are none missing all the ranks are there completed
in that kingdom of Satan and Antichrist the 144,000, the people
of God on earth at the time in every time suffered because they
refused to worship but chapter 13 verse 8 and all they that
dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written
in the book of the life of the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world but those whose names are written there don't
worship they will not worship they refuse to worship because
their names are written in the Lamb's book of life for his sake
we read in Romans 8 36 for thy sake we are killed all the day
long as believers in this society we are counted as sheep for the
slaughter but only those sheep have spiritual life and they
sing look verses 2 and 3 I heard a voice from heaven as the voice
of many waters and as the voice of a great thunder and I heard
the voice of harpers harping with their harps and they sang
as it were a new song before the throne and before the four
beasts and the elders and no man could learn that song but
the hundred and forty and four thousand which were redeemed
from the earth they sing the song of the redeemed those who
were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb we heard about this
first in Revelation 5 and verse 9 where we read this and they
sung a new song saying thou art worthy to take the book and to
open the seals thereof, why? for thou was slain and has redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and
people and nation these are those that are redeemed from the earth
that's what it means here at the end of verse three the ones
that are redeemed from the earth they're brought out of the servitude
of satan they're brought out of their death in trespasses
and sins and they're given spiritual life the holy spirit comes and
gives sight the sight, to see the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. They're given
spiritual life and discernment. For the natural man, writes Paul
in 1 Corinthians 2.14, the natural man does not receive the things
of the Spirit of God, for they're foolishness to him, neither can
he know them. Why? They are spiritually discerned.
Where do I get that discernment? only from God. It's the gift
of God. By faith, by grace are you saved
through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
God. He gives that sight to see the
things of eternity. Blessed is the man. blessed is
the man and the woman blessed are those people who know the
Lord blessed are they who have been shown that their sins have
been forgiven that their iniquity is not imputed to them blessed
are those people there is no more blessed people misunderstood
by this world ostracized, sidelined, snubbed persecuted by those we
count friends and family members and colleagues at work and all
sorts of people all around even to the extent of persecution
even to the extent of being killed but possessing life from God
and look at verses 4 and 5 these are they which were not defiled
with women for they are virgins these are they which follow the
Lamb whithersoever he goeth these were redeemed from among men
being the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb and in their
mouth was found no guile for they are without fault before
the throne This is not a call, as the Catholics claim, to chastity
of a priesthood or anything like that. It's got nothing whatsoever
to do with that. It's talking about spiritual
adultery. It's talking about spiritual
unfaithfulness, spiritual fornication, spiritual impurity. Old Testament
Israel, in its unfaithful idolatry, was often pictured as an adulterous
woman for going after false gods. These people, the people of God,
the ones that are talked about here, they have steadfastly refused
to be compromised with religious adultery, religious fornication. They've been kept pure, not in
their own strength, because we have no strength in ourselves,
but by the Holy Spirit. We've been given the mind of
Christ, that's what it says just after 1 Corinthians chapter 2
verse 40, it says we have the mind of Christ. We have, you
know, I don't care where you are on the IQ range, I don't
care where you are in terms of the smartness of this world,
the intelligence of this world, but if you're a child of God,
Psalm 119 verse 99, I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for thy testimonies are my meditation. The word of God makes you wise.
These people, they follow the lamb wherever he goes. How do
they follow him? Jesus said, my sheep. He said,
I'm the good shepherd. My sheep hear my voice and they
follow me. They follow me because they're
my sheep. That's why they follow the lamb wherever he goes. Don't
we? If he says it, it doesn't fit
in with my plans. Are you one of his sheep? you
follow him wherever he goes they're made righteous verse 5 look verse
5 in their mouth was found no guile for they are without fault
they looked for iniquity in Israel and in Judah and they found none
why did they find none? because there was none there
why was there none there? because Christ has taken it out of the
way he has taken it He has borne it. He has suffered its penalty. He has taken it out of the way.
God is supremely ruling. Antichrist seems to grow ever
worse with seeming impunity. They seem to grow worse and worse
with seeming impunity. and even though it causes pain
to God's 144,000 on this world we see from the Lamb's perspective
we see that Christ is triumphant we see that God is serenely ruling
all things we see that God even laughs at their doomed aspirations
Psalm 2 remember Psalm 73 dotting around a little bit look at Psalm
70 just turn there with me now psalm 73 remember psalm 73 a
psalm of Asaph and Asaph was envious at the ungodly Asaph
had flogged himself to death to coin a phrase in trying to
be a servant of God and look what it had got him, nothing
other than persecution and deprivation and there he sees there he sees
others all around him he sees others all around him who have
just paid no attention to God and they're prospering and they
seem to be having a good time and nothing nothing their eyes
stand out with fatness they're corrupt and they speak wickedly
and they get away with it they get away with it with impunity
and he's going to say I've had enough of this and I'm going
to give up and then he gets down to verse twelve well let's start
from verse twelve just follow with me behold these are the
ungodly who prosper in the world they increase in riches verily
I have cleansed my heart in vain I've tried to follow God and
look what good it's done me I've washed my hands in innocency
for all the day long I've been plagued and chastened every morning
Hold on a minute, hold on, hold on, hold on. He's a child of
God. If I say I will speak thus, behold,
I should offend against the generation of thy children. I'll cause hurt
to true believers. If I as a believer, a leading
believer it would seem, start talking like that, i'll give
offense to these little ones who trust christ and that he's
144 000 in the world no i'll offend against them and when
i thought to know this it was too painful for me what sorted
it out for him i went into the sanctuary of god What did he
see there? He saw the gospel, didn't he?
What was the temple, the sanctuary of God? It was a picture of the
gospel of his grace. When he went there, he saw the
truth of God, of his justice, of his righteousness, of his
redemption. When he saw that, He understood
the end of the wicked. You have set them in slippery
places. Thou cast them down unto destruction. That's what changed
it round. How his perspective changed his
view and changed his spirit and his understanding. This, children
of God, is what we need to see. However bad the kingdom of Antichrist
and of Satan becomes, chapter 13, look at the perspective of
Christ, who rules supreme. He's controlling all things.
There is an end coming. If I've got time to do it, let's
just do it now. the three angels at verses six to twelve then
I knew their end is what Asaph said children of God we know
the end of the kingdom of Satan and of Antichrist because it's
told us in these verses we're going to get more detail in later
chapters but here is a kind of a management summary of the end,
another one of these management summaries of the end in verses
six and seven I saw an angel fly in the midst of heaven having
the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth
and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people saying
with a loud voice fear God and give glory to him for the hour
of his judgment is come and worship him that made heaven and earth
and sea and the fountain of waters what is this gospel that this
angel has got? to preach to everyone under heaven. What is this gospel? Is this
speaking of a final revival when millions upon millions are going
to believe the gospel and be saved? Is that what it's talking
about? I don't believe so. You know the word gospel means
good news. What is the good news? Well, what does he say? Fear
God and give glory to Him. That doesn't sound like a message
of gospel good news as we understand it in the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ, does it? But it's good news to the persecuted
people of God. To the people of God who are
suffering the ills of this kingdom. Why? Because God is promising
there's an end coming. that it's going to be brought
to an end judgment is coming fear God and give glory to him
for judgment is coming this isn't a last chance warning to a rebellious
world remember Jesus said, remember the parable of Lazarus and the
rich man remember you know and it was like the rich man said
oh I'm in torment in hell please go and if one would rise from
the dead and go and tell my brothers to believe the God, no Jesus
said if they will not believe Moses and the prophets they will
not believe the one rise from the dead I'm telling you in these
days If they will not, this world out here, if they will not believe
the gospel clearly proclaimed, and it's there, it's on the internet,
clearer for the world than it's ever been before. If they will
not believe that, they will not believe though an angel fly through
heaven. preaching these words. No, they won't believe. What
did we read in previous chapters? They repented not of their sins. They repented not. No, this isn't
the gospel like that. It's an announcement of final
judgment. And it's good news to God's persecuted people whose
blood cries out for vengeance. Remember we saw that in chapter
6 verse 10. It was the fifth of the seals.
Their blood cried out for vengeance. Announce it to everybody, he
says. I could show you, we haven't got time but I could show you,
Isaiah 45 I'll go there quickly, Isaiah 45 verse 23 I have sworn
by myself the word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness
and shall not return that unto me every knee shall bow and every
tongue shall swear surely shall one say in the Lord I have righteousness
what he's saying is whether you believe the truth in your Christ
or not you will all acknowledge that God is supreme Philippians
2 verses 8 to 11 listen to this and being found in fashion as
a man he Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death
even the death of the cross wherefore God also hath highly exalted
him and given him a name which is above every name that at the
name of Jesus every knee, not just 144,000, every knee should
bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the
earth and every tongue without exception should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That's what
that gospel is talking about. and then verse 8 and I'm being
quick don't worry I'll finish verse 8 the second one Babylon
is fallen Babylon is fall what's Babylon it's the city of Nimrod
that rebellious panther of Genesis chapter 11 who tried to build
the tower of Babel to get to heaven without blood redemption
through his false, adulterous religion, aspiring to heaven
without Christ and his blood and it's saying that that religion
is cast down. That religion, the Tower of Babel
is what gave its name to Babylon. Babylon, is it not interesting,
was the city of captivity in the days of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar
came from Babylon to take the people of God away into captivity
there. that's what is fallen Babylon
is fallen in the days of Daniel the literal Babylon was fallen
it was cast down when the Medes and Persians came everything
that spiritually seduces men and women away from the service
of God whatever it is called we read here it's cast down its
doom is written large whatever it's called the details are in
later chapters but this is its end pronounced now so that you
can hear it so that I can hear it now children of God we can
hear it now its end is pronounced and verses 9, 10 and 11 now listen
to this nobody particularly likes preaching about this the third
angel followed them saying with a loud voice if any man worship
the beast and his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in
his hand the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God
which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation
And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence
of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the
smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. And they
have no rest, day or night, who worship the beast and his image,
and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. This is hell. This is hell. It's real. And
it's for all, without exception, who worship the beast and his
image. and that's everybody who doesn't
have his name written in the Lamb's Book of Life. What is
hell? What is it? I don't know. I don't
know. But it must be this. It must
be the withdrawal of all of God's temporal, physical blessings. Of even the delusion of the blessings
of Satan's kingdom you know the prosperity of the wicked in this
world and it's realization it's reality when time is no more
that must be unending torment that must be God causes his sun
to shine and his rain to fall in blessing upon men and women
without distinction whether they're the citizens of the kingdom of
the beast or of the kingdom of Christ he makes no distinction
diseases and blessing and prosperity it falls on all without distinction
and without exception but this is hell when everything like
that is removed it's unending because it's outside of time
when time is no more there's no purgatory don't believe that
catholic lie there's no second chance there's no chance for
recovery after death there's no parole today is the day of
salvation today is the day to seek the Lord and you shall find
so verse twelve Here is the patience of the saints. Here are they
that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus Christ. Wait patiently, children of God.
Wait patiently, saints of God. Look by faith at eternal reality. You can have confidence that
God will save you to the uttermost in the Lord Jesus Christ out
of this fallen world with its Babylonian religion and its satanic
oppression.